Rabha tribes celebrate their annual festival ‘Baikho Puja’ along the Assam- Meghalaya border

Rabha tribal community celebrated their annual festival ‘Baikho Puja’ at a remote village Gamerimura village under Boko LAC along the Assam-Meghalaya border in Assam’s Kamrup district on June 14. 

The festival is celebrated to propitiate the prosperity of the community and the success of the harvest. 

The Gamerimura regional units of the All Rabha Students’ Union (ARSU), All Rabha Women Council (ARWC), and Six Schedule Demand Committee (SSDC) jointly organized the day-long festival Gamerimura playground.

Tankeswar Rabha, Chief Executive Member of Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) took part as chief guest along with deputy chairman of RHAC Ramakanta Rabha, other executive members of RHAC Sumit Rabha, Aditya Rabha, Frylin Marak, ARSU General Secretary Pradip Rabha and many other dignitaries. All three regional organizations also felicitated the students who passed recently in the HSLC examination from the Gamerimura area. 

On this occasion, Rabha traditional game ‘lewa tana’ (tug-of-war) was also organized among the boys and girls of the area.

Rohini Rabha, the main Priest of the Baikho Puja said that the puja or the rituals started in the morning which includes pig sacrifice, by burning incense and worshiping the gods and goddesses. 

“This is our traditional annual puja. During the Baikho Puja, we worship our thirteen gods and goddesses for good harvest, for children’s progress in education, for no scarcity of water, for people will not getting sick, and to remove evil and misfortune. Moreover, we annually celebrate the puja for the comprehensive development of our Rabha tribal community” said Rohini Rabha.

Rohini Rabha also said that the festival celebrates not only in Assam’s RHAC area but it is celebrated in various places in Meghalaya state. 

The most thrilling part of the Baikho puja is the last ritual ‘Barnakkai’ which means fire test dance which is performed by Rabha Tribal priests for fulfilling their wishes.

CEM Tankeswar Rabha said that the Baikho festival celebrates all over the Rabha inhabited areas and it celebrates every year in the Assamese month ‘Jeth’. Rabha also greetings to the Rabha community for the Baikho festival.  

"Festivals represent the identity of a community, festival conveys a message of harmony and love among different ethnic groups in a region and I personally believe that this festival will bind everyone together," said Tankeshwar Rabha.

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